HC Deb 23 March 1976 vol 908 cc190-1
12. Mr. Gould

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made in establishing methods of identifying those housewives who will be eligible for the non-contributory invalidity benefit.

Mr. Alfred Morris

I am glad to say that good progress is being made in the search for a fair and workable scheme for the housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension, and I am grateful to all those, including hon. Members on both sides of the House, who have been giving me their help. A small pilot exercise to assess the effectiveness of possible procedures for establishing incapacity for normal household duties is now in progress.

Mr. Gould

Has my hon. Friend considered the valuable work done by Dr. Margaret Agerholm on the classification and evaluation of intrinsic handicap, and does he agree that it is very important to establish a simple and workable criterion of eligibility, not just for the non-contributory invalidity pension but for every benefit, particularly the attendance allowance?

Mr. Morris

I am, of course, familiar with the important work that Dr. Margaret Agerholm has been doing on assessment. I am grateful for this opportunity to pay tribute to her and others who are doing this important work.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

Does the Minister agree that the difficulty arises out of the piecemeal and complicated approach that the Government have adopted to income for the disabled, so that this non-contributory invalidity pension to housewives, when it is paid, will be the fifth cash payment arising from disability? We appreciate the worthwhile progress that is being made, but does the hon. Member not regret having abandoned an approach to disability income based upon the degree of incapacity for all possible claimants?

Mr. Morris

I could await the millenium. I could hope that it would be possible at one moment to remove all income problems for disabled people. In the present economic situation piecemeal progress has been the only option open to me. I take pride in the fact that in the next financial year we shall be introducing our fourth brand-new cash benefit for severely disabled people. The hon. Member, who takes a very great personal interest in these matters, will appreciate that I would have preferred to go faster, but he will agree that we have made considerable progress.